Programme Cooperation Agreement 2010 – 2011

• Based on findings and discussions with herders, GRID-Arendal coordinated the development of a joint UNEP/Mongolian/Russian GEF proposal for ap- praisal in 2012 to address transboundary challenges of southern taiga reindeer husbandry; and • The Nomadic Herders project has provided input to a report on pastoralism and land use change for the 2012 session of the UNPFII. The project is featured in the UNFCCC’s Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Calendar 2012 (see cover and December pages), 37 analysed as a case study on ecosystem-based approaches to adap- tation, 38 and listed in the document Ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation: Compilation of information prepared for the 35 th session of the UNFCCC Sub- sidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) in December 2011. 39 i The Nomadic Herders Project has contributed to heightened awareness of threats and opportunities faced by reindeer herders in Mongolia, primarily by rectifying a serious knowledge gap among decision-mak- ers and facilitating dialogue between stakeholders. The key output in 2011, Changing Taiga: Challenges for Mongolia’s Reindeer Herders , responded to a direct re- quest from MNET to assess Mongolia’s reindeer hus- bandry, and served as the proto-type for development of the new GRID-Arendal publication series, “Portraits of Transition (POT)”.

The participatory approach of the project, whereby rein- deer herders in Mongolia are collaborators in planning and implementation, has yielded major benefits in terms of expanding community participation and redressing gender bias. As reindeer husbandry in Mongolia is a family-based livelihood with gender specific responsi- bilities, the project has engaged both women and men through workshops, mapping exercises, interviews and discussions. As a way of ensuring sustainability in the initiative, young reindeer herders from Mongolia, Russia and Fennoscan- dia have been actively engaged in project activities, pro- viding unprecedented opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences with other herding communities. Thus far, two young herders from Mongolia attended a seminar on traditional knowledge in Kautokeino, Norway in March 2011, and three young herders from Norway and Sweden were part of the delegation that visited Mongolia in June 2011. Fully in line with the concept of “free prior and in- formed consent” 40 promoted by the United Nations Dec- 37. http://unfccc.int/files/adaptation/application/pdf/nwp_cal_2012.pdf 38. http://unfccc.int/adaptation/nairobi_work_programme/knowl- edge_resources_and_publications/items/6227.php 39. http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2011/sbsta/eng/inf08.pdf 40. Free, prior and informed consent (‘FPIC’) is generally understood as the right of indigenous peoples to approve or reject proposed actions or projects that may affect them or their lands, territories or resources.

A community meeting with the 14 families of Camp 1 takes place in the East Taiga, June 2011 (photo by Lawrence Hislop)

23